PC Harper's killers to stay behind bars as Burnham expands early release exemptions

PM Andy Burnham has announced that prisoners convicted of manslaughter and unlawful killing will be excluded from the early release scheme. Hundreds more inmates will remain behind bars.

Burnham blocks early release for unlawful killing convicts, including PC Harper's killers

Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, the men convicted of killing PC Andrew Harper, will not be freed ahead of schedule after Prime Minister Andy Burnham extended exemptions to the government's early prison release scheme, The Independent reports.

Burnham confirmed on Sunday that prisoners serving time for manslaughter, indecent assault, and death by dangerous driving will now be excluded from the scheme, which was originally introduced to ease chronic overcrowding in jails across England and Wales.

"This means that the awful criminals responsible for the killing of PC Andrew Harper will not have their sentence shortened," Burnham said.

Bowers and Cole were passengers in a car that dragged PC Harper along a country road after he became entangled in a strap attached to the vehicle as the group fled the scene of a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in 2019. They are currently serving 13-year sentences and had faced the prospect of release at the halfway point under the existing scheme.

"Hundreds more" kept behind bars

Burnham told BBC Breakfast that around 1,000 prisoners had already remained in custody following his initial changes. The latest exemptions mean "hundreds more" will now also stay in prison, including those convicted of historic child sexual offences.

"I know how strongly people feel about this issue. I understand the concern and anger because I share it," Burnham said. "That's why I took action during my first weeks as prime minister to block some of the very worst in society being released before they should."

He added that he "couldn't have pushed the system any further," stating he had worked through the summer with Justice Secretary Alex Norris to examine all available options. Norris is expected to publish a full review of changes to the Sentencing Act when parliament returns from its summer recess on Tuesday.

To create additional prison capacity, the government plans to deport foreign national offenders and to scrap indefinite jail terms — a measure The Independent has campaigned on for more than two years.

Harper's mother: "We've been brought through the mill"

PC Harper's mother, Debbie Adlam, said she was "grateful" that her son's killers would not be released early, but stressed that the announcement merely restored the situation that had existed before the scheme was proposed.

"It's a really mixed bag of emotions, though, because on the one hand we are glad, but we've been brought through the mill, and we are only back at where we were to start with," she told BBC Breakfast. "We are just literally fighting to get back to where we were."

Adlam said she hoped the justice system would undergo a broader overhaul in the years ahead. Asked whether she believed the country was getting sentencing wrong, she said: "I really think we're getting it wrong. The years came off for various things, and most of the public would say to you, 'I feel like we're going downhill as a country, and I think it needs some serious work'."

Policing leaders respond

Aileen O'Connor, chairwoman of Thames Valley Police Federation, described it as "shocking" that Bowers and Cole had ever been considered for early release. "PC Andrew Harper made the ultimate sacrifice for the job that he loved, serving communities, serving society. His killers should never have been considered for early release," she said.

Paul Williams, acting deputy national chair of the Police Federation, said: "The voice of policing and the policing family across the country has been heard loud and clear."

Concerns over prison capacity remain

Despite the announcement, critics warned that extending exemptions without addressing the underlying capacity crisis left the system dangerously exposed. Prisons in England and Wales are currently operating at 98 per cent capacity.

Andrea Coomber, chief executive of the Howard League, told The Guardian: "All it will take is something like a serious riot or public disturbance and any capacity will be gone. It is just too close to the bone and the government will be left with very little room to manoeuvre."

Dame Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales, told The Times she remained concerned about the number of domestic abusers still eligible for early release. "While it's good to see more dangerous offenders exempt from this scheme, I remain deeply concerned about the number of abusers who will still be eligible for early release," she said.

Separately, Burnham's decision to abolish Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences — known as IPP sentences — is expected to give thousands of prisoners currently held without a fixed release date the prospect of a firm end to their detention.

Source: The Independent